I was watching TV the other night when a CNN news story caught my attention. The bouncy anchor seamlessly took the audience to the North Pole where any number of countries are "claiming" territorial rights for either the fatherland or motherland. At the center of the controversy (and story) lies about 25-30 percent of the world's known remaining oil reserves. Yes that's right, directly under all those polar bears millions of barrels of bubbling crude.If this is not fantastic enough, the side story - the one the anchor and most viewers probably missed- was the fact that the ice cap is melting. I was amazed, not that the US, Norway, Russia, Canada and others are trying to claim something they could have cared less for 20 years ago, but that the anchor just skipped by the part about the meltdown. Apparently the same people that first argued there was no global warming and then that we do not affect it - simply acknowledge it now as a variable for oil exploration.
The visuals for this news segment showed melting ice being navigated by ships representing explorers (or the symbolic representations of them) from various nations. According to the bubble headed anchor the ice will be sufficiently melted by 2015 for massive drilling to take place. If you do not see the bleak irony of this then perhaps you should turn CNN back on. "Never fear SUV drivers, soon the polar ice caps of Earth will be gone and Exxon can get you more gas!" My God, I just wonder at how many people thought what I was thinking (and my 12 year old son).
I guess the larger issue still is the apparent unconcern of Russia or any of these other countries for the environment or any other issue as being more paramount than seizing the last drop of a depleted and overused resource. I can't wait until we are totally on solar so we can watch these morons try to plant a national flag on the Sun! That is if we are not underwater or in boats by then.
Melting Ice Off Denmark
Photos Courtesy AP
